Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to an optical fiber connector and a method of assembling the same on site.
Description of the Related Art
In prior arts, a design of a multi-hole ferrule based enhancement mode multi-core optical fiber connector is accomplished by machining and assembling all elements in a controllable factory environment. When such a design is to be applied in an application environment with a limited space (for example, an assembly needs to be passed through a pipe with a limited space), it is very difficult for the connector to be applied in the environment with a limited space due to a relative larger head of the whole connector, and even an effective routing of the optical cable assembly cannot be achieved.
In prior arts, the enhancement mode multi-core optical fiber connector is generally designed and manufactured as follows (a connector comprising a male ferrule is taken as an example, the same is true for a connector comprising a female ferrule):
In a factory environment, a polished multi-hole ferrule (containing preassembled optical fibers therein), an optical fiber protection sleeve, an alignment pin (wherein a male ferrule comprises an alignment pin, and a female ferrule comprises an alignment hole mating with the alignment pin) and a spring are fixed on an inner housing through a spring tail-holder, an optical cable strengthening component is fixed on the inner housing by using an inner housing cover sheet and a sleeve so that the optical cable and the inner housing are formed into a whole, then an outer housing is fitted over the inner housing, and a thermal shrinkable tube, a tail sleeve, an alignment insert, an outer protection housing and a seal ring are assembled, thereby forming a complete enhancement mode multi-core optical fiber connector.
The enhancement mode multi-core optical fiber connector in prior arts has the following defects:                a) it is not easy to pass the connector through a pipe on site due to its large dimension, particularly when the pipe has a limited space, which makes a routing operation of the optical cable difficult, or even impossible;        b) if a method of splicing a tail fiber for the enhancement mode multi-core optical fiber connector is used, that is, only the optical cable is passed through the pipe on site, and then a tail fiber prefabricated in the factory environment for the enhancement mode multi-core optical fiber connector is spliced to the optical cable outside the pipe. Although connection of the optical cable can be achieved by using this method, it is hard to ensure the splicing connection has an uniform optical quality, this is because during splicing, the multi-core optical fiber has a relatively complicated structure and there are a number of uncertainties (e.g., dust or the like) in a field (mostly, outdoor) environment. Moreover, a technician/engineer who carries out the splicing operation should have a high level operant skill, the operation is time-consuming and thereby the cost in assembling is high. What is more important is that the uncertainty of the operation leads to a risk of reducing reliability of the connector;        c) no protection cap is mounted on the ferrule, thus, a front end surface of the ferrule and a front end surface of the optical fibers in an internal bore of the ferrule can be damaged easily; and        d) all components composing the optical fiber connector need to be assembled one by one on site, the assembling is time-consuming, and therefore it is inconvenient for a quick installation.        